Iran fires missiles at Israel for first time in two months; Trump tells Netanyahu not to retaliate

Iran fired a volley of missiles at Israel Sunday night, catapulting the region back to the cusp of all out war after two months of a shaky ceasefire, with Israel vowing to respond even as US President Donald Trump attempted to limit the fallout and keep truce negotiations with Tehran on track.

No Israelis were hurt in the attack, which involved some 10 missiles fired at northern Israel in quick succession around 10 p.m. Iran said it launched the missiles in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb earlier in the day targeting the headquarters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

A short while after the Iranian attack, Trump announced that he would be telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate, fearing that it could derail talks with Iran that he claimed had been “very close” to bearing fruit.

The missile fire was the first to target Israel since an April truce that halted over a month of rocket fire triggered by joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran starting on February 28.  Despite the temporary ceasefire with Iran, Israel has continued fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran has insisted that it will only agree to a comprehensive deal on ending the war if Israel also stops attacking Hezbollah.

Following the missile attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was intended to serve as a “warning” of a broader response that would encompass all US and Israeli targets in the region if “aggressions” are repeated, apparently referring to the strikes near Beirut.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel was ready to hit back at Tehran but was awaiting approval from the political leadership.

“The IDF will strike the enemy with force the moment the green light is given,” he said during an assessment with the military’s top brass, according to remarks provided by the military.

But Trump told Israel’s Channel 12 news that he would be calling Netanyahu to tell him not to hit back at Iran.

“The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody,” the US president said. “Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate. If Bibi strikes them back, it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years.”

The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately confirm whether a call with Trump had taken place, but a US official told Axios that the two had indeed spoken. Netanyahu then convened a meeting with top security officials, according to Hebrew media reports.

Trump told Channel 12 that the US was “very close to a final deal with Iran” regarding a permanent end to the war launched by the US and Israel on February 28, and that he didn’t want the fresh missile fire to “blow up” the progress.

“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” Trump added. “Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one.”

“I don’t want to see an additional attack tonight,” the president added.

He expressed a similar sentiment in a separate conversation with Fox News, saying the Iranian attack would “not help” negotiations with Tehran.

“We’re very close” to a deal with Iran, Trump claimed. “I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of this coming week. And now this takes place.”

Appearing to partially pin the blame on Israel, the president said he was “not happy” about the strikes in Lebanon.

Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern outskirts were ordered in response to Hezbollah firing toward Israel.

Trump later told the Financial Times that Netanyahu “won’t have any choice” but to accept whatever agreement Washington may reach with Iran.

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump told the outlet in a phone interview, adding, “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.”

Region braces for fresh escalation

The Iranian attack came moments after the IDF announced that it was gearing up for likely missile fire in the coming hours, setting off sirens and sending millions in Israel’s north scrambling for shelter.

All of the missiles were intercepted or struck open areas, according to the military, and there were no reports of direct impacts or damage in the attacks. There were no injuries as a direct result of the missile fire, but Magen David Adom said that a 79-year-old woman was being treated after hitting her head on the way to a bomb shelter in northern Israel. She was being treated at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, in a press conference, said the IDF was prepared for additional missile fire from Iran.

He added that “the Iranian terror regime made a grave mistake.”

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Israel’s Home Front Command ordered schools closed nationwide and placed limits on large events.

At the same time, officials decided not to close the country’s airspace, though the Transportation Ministry said it would reasess the situation if the rocket fire expanded.

Some two hours after the attack, Channel 12 reported that Ben Gurion International Airport was functioning as usual, with only a single Australian Airlines flight having been cancelled.

“If there are no changes in the coming hours, tomorrow the airport will be full,” the outlet’s reporter at the airport said. Passengers who have flights should come to the airport as usual, he added, unless something changes in the coming hours.

In contrast, Iran closed its airspace over the west of the country, indicating it was bracing for a potential Israeli response.

“Due to safety and security assessments… the western part of the country’s airspace was declared closed until further notice,” said Majid Akhavan, the spokesman for the National Civil Aviation Organization, in a statement carried by the news agency IRNA.

Across the border in Iraq, officials told Reuters that the country’s airspace was also temporarily closed, and that air navigation had been suspended for reasons related to air traffic safety following the attacks.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority said Iraqi airspace will remain closed for 72 hours.

Syria also temporarily closed its southern airspace for 12 hours and suspended operations at Damascus Airport.

The US embassy in Jerusalem said it had ordered all employees to shelter in place and announced that all services would be closed on Monday.

Security Alert: As a result of the current security situation in Israel, including Home Front Command alerts for multiple regions, the U.S. Embassy has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place, and be prepared to move to a protected… pic.twitter.com/FyMdSKGBUI

— U.S. Embassy Jerusalem (@usembassyjlm) June 7, 2026

“As a result of the current security situation in Israel, including Home Front Command alerts for multiple regions, the US Embassy has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place, and be prepared to move to a protected shelter in the event of a red alert, until further notice,” read a statement from the embassy.

The embassy issued a security advisory last week, warning US citizens in the region to show increased caution, and highlighting Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, though there was no indication at the time what triggered the advisory.

The Sunday night missile fire marked the first such Iranian attack on Israel since the US announced a ceasefire between the warring countries on April 8.

There have been several flare-ups since then, mostly centered around the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, but in each instance, Iran chose to launch missile and drone attacks at closer Gulf states rather than focus on Israel.